Convertible table



Jan. 29, y1952 M. A. BoYEs ET A1.

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o WM5 M w www y 3; Aw f ya f .1 A I f Patented Jan. 29, 1952 CONVERTIBLETABLEl Mary A. Boyes, Los Angeles, and J. Edwin Coates,

SantaV Monica, Calif., assignors to Alta Eng-ineering Company, SantaMonica, Calif., a limited# partnership of California ApplicationDecember 8, 1947, Serial No. 790,396

Z'Claims. (Cl. 3113) This'invention relates'to an amusement deviceforchildren andmore particularlyfto a mobile frame` adapted to serveselectively asV a horizontal base for the support of building blocks;small toys; etc., and as a generally upright easel for the reception ofcut-out pictures; targets for throwing games', and other amusementpurposes.

The invention generally lcontemplates the provision of a planarbasemember on which a child mayl assemble building blocks;` arrange variousstationary and movable toys, and play various marbleand` ballgames', thebase being provided with casters or the like so that it canrbe: readilymoved about the-house;

Itis well known -that children enjoyA playing on the floor and one ofthemest usual pastimes consists in building towers or houses with a setof blocks. invariably, such structures are built in the center of'aroomvor a hall and constitute a substantiallhazard toadults whond itnecessary 'tol walk" abouti the house. They cannot be moved Withoutdisassembly, andzthis' is a source oil. disappointment to the child. Thepresent' in'- vention provides a base ofconsiderable area `on whichthezblock structuresrcanzbe erected and, because it is mounted oncasters or'gliders; it standsonly a few inches above floor levelso thatit is readily accessible to even `the smallest child, and cannot beaccidentally tippedover; lit can be moved at a moments noticev withoutdisturbing` anything. which may be on it and can` be readily storedinconvenient 'pla-ces; such as under the childs bed.`

In order to facilitate handling; the devce'is provided with a handlewhich may: beA moved from' an'inoperative position to'onewhere it maybe.` readily grasped whilev standing,` andthe. cart may then be movedeasily in' the; mannerofa baby buggy. InV the inoperative position thehandle is substantiallyf co-.planar with andernbraces the base.

The basef is1 generally-cin. the form. of` a tray with an upstandingmarginaledge containinga panel of fairly soft; readily penetrablematerial such as"Celotex. or'other;` similar wall boards. Cut-outpictures, bases of` cardboard model houses, and other things-can bereadily attached to such a panel4 with pins or thumb tacks and canxbequickly removed Whendesiredl Thepanel itself can be easilyremoved andreplaced when it becomes worn or damaged.

The'handle is so constructed and mounted that it can be' moved to`athirdpredetermined position extendinglangularly awayvfromrtheirear faceoifthebase to support-:it in' a generallyupright 2` posltioninv themanner ofY an. easel; Thechild can then mount paper on theipanelfordrawing pictures and the like or attach targets fordart or 'pingames.

Another important feature of novelty isthe constructionand arrangementoi the cooperating parts of the handle and the base which provides forretaining the handle in three different pre'- determined positions witha minimum amount of structure and no moving parts except the handleitself. Other features lof novelty and advantages will becomeapparent asthe description proceeds.

The presently preferred formso the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

`Figure l is a top plan view of thedevice with a portion of the handlebroken away;`

Figure 2 is a side elevational view'ofthe device with a portion of thehandle broken away and showing the supporting casters;

Figure 3 is a sectional'view taken on line 3-3 of Figure l showing thedetent engagement when the handle is in upwardly extending position;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the detent engagementwhen the handle is in inoperative position;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure l;

Figure 6`is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the base towhich the handle is pivotally attached, the handle being shown in itsupper position in full lines and in its lower position in dotted lines;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of'thedevice set up as an easel;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of aA modiediorm of the baseshown in Figure 1'; and

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken' on line 99 of Figure 1.

In the form` of the invention shown in' Figure-l the base l` includes a.generallyrectangular frame l2.of angular cross.sectionprovidedwith alJ-shaped` handle M. The latter is pivotally attached to 'the frame bymeans of` a pair of stepped stud rivets as best seen in Figure 9.` Eachof the rivets includes a medial cylindrical section I5 with oppositelyextending bosses i8 and 20 of reduced diameter.. TheV boss IS passesthru an aperture 22 in the frame Illandisfheadedover at24forfrigidattaohment thereto. The bossZG formsA a journal' for thebearing aperture 26 formed in theA handle` l 421 and is headed* over.;at

vouts of any desired type thereto.

28 to retain the handle thereon for free pivotal movement. A

The frame is reinforced and rigidied, as illustrated in Figure 5, by theprovision of a panel 30 of strong rigid material such as Masonte altho athin sheet of steel or other suitable material may berused. This panelforms a fairly close fit within the frame and is permanently securedthereto by a plurality of rivets 32 passing thru aligned openings in thepanel and the horizontal portions I3 of the frame. The panel, togetherwith the frame, forms a tray for the reception of toys such as buildingblocks and the like, and the vertical portions I of the frame form a lowwall to prevent marbles, balls, or rolling toys from rolling off thebase.

The base as described above is complete in itself and is strong enoughto support the weight of a child as well as his toys. To increase theutility of the device, a second panel 34 is provided. This panel, ofsubstantially the same size as panel 30, is formed of a fairly soft,readily penetrable material such as Celotex or other wall board and isdetachably secured to panel 30 by means of a plurality of headed pins 36having cotter pins 38 passing through their lower free ends. The softmaterial is readily penetrated by pins or thumb tacks which may be usedto attach paper cut- Panel 3D will become Worn or damaged in time andthe connection described facilitates detachment and replacement with anew panel.

The U-shaped handle I4 is of such size and shape that, in itsinoperative position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, it embracesthe major portion of the frame I2. The free ends 40 of the handle arebent out of its general plane at an angle of approximately 45 degrees,and the bearing aperture 25 in each leg is located approximately at thepoint of bending, altho such location is not absolutely essential.

The ends 4t are chamfered and the tips 42 thereof are bent inwardly asshown to serve as detents. Detent receiving portions 44 and 46 areformed in the vertical side walls I5 of the frame and may be dimples ordepressions, but it has been found more desirable to form them asapertures passing entirely through the walls I5. When the handle I4 isin the position shown in Figure 2, extending upwardly and away from thefront face of the base at an angle of approximately 45 degrees thedetents 42 extend into apertures 44 as best illustrated in Figure 3, andthe handle may be grasped to move the base from place to place. When itis desired to swing the handle about its pivotal mounting to a newposition the detents can be readily sprung out of the apertures by aforceful movement of the handle since the ends 40, or the entire handleif desired, are formed of resilient material.

When the handle is swung clockwise as viewed in Figure 2 it will come torest in the dotted line position shown in that figure. When the handlereaches this position the detents 42 will bear against the lowermarginal edges of the frame as indicated in Figure 4, and prevent thehandle from falling lower.

The handle may also be swung to a position extending away from the rearface of the base at an angle of approximately 30 degrees to support thebase in a generally upright position on a floor in the manner of aneasel, as illustrated in Figure 7. In this latter position the detents42 are sprung into engagement with the detent receiving portions 46 toreleasably retain the handle against unintentional movement. With thisarrangement a child can mount cutouts of any kind on the panel 34 bymeans of pins or thurmb tacks and may attach a target for a throwinggame such as the target 48.

The relation and cooperation of the main portions of handle I4, the freeends 40, detents 42, and detent receiving portions 44 and 46 are clearlyillustrated in Figure 6, in which the handle is shown in its upwardlyextending position in full lines and in its lower or easel position indotted lines. It will be noted that, because the apertures 44 and 46 arenot directly in line with the mounting pivot and the detents 42 arecorrespondingly offset, the angular divergence of the handle is greaterin the upper position than in the lower position. v

It is desirable to support the base some distance above the floor forease of use but it should be low enough to prevent tipping if a childsits on it and also low enough to be stored under articles of furnituresuch as a bed. It should also be easily movable on the iioor. Theseconditions are met by the provision of casters 50 having base plates 52attached to the horizontal portions I3 of frame I2 by means of rivets54. It will be seen that, with the handle I4 in the position shown inFigure 2, the device may be readily wheeled about by grasping the crossbar I1 of the handle. The casters are located inwardly from the endedges of the frame a suflicient distance to prevent them from contactingthe floor when the device is used as an easel.

A modied form of the base is illustrated in Figure 8, in which it isformed of a singlesheet of metal providing a rectangular web member 56with upwardly extending integral flange members 58 on all four sides. AnX-shaped depression 60 is stamped in the web member to strengthen andrigidity it. It is thus possible to dispense with a separatestrengthening panel such as member 30. However, a detachable, penetrablepanelis provided as in the previously described modification and thehandle and caster details may be similar or identical to those alreadydescribed.

It will be seen that we have provided a novel and easily operableamusement device having many uses and advantages. Various changes andmodifications may be made in its construction without departing from thespirit of the in-V vention, and it is intended that all such changes andmodifications shall be embraced within the scope of the followingclaims.

We claim:

1. A childs play table comprising: a generally rectangular tray member,substantially longer than it is wide, presenting an upper surface; arelatively shallow flange up-standing from the edges of said tray memberto rigidify same and serve as a guard rail for objects; support membersattached to said tray member and extending downwardly therefrom; agenerally U-shaped bail having arms substantially longer than onehalfthe length of said tray member; said arms being pivotally attached neartheir free ends to the flange on the long edges of said tray member atsuch points that the bail, in inoperative position, will lie in closejuxtaposition to said flange thruout the length of the bail; cooperatingdetent means on said arms and said ange engaging each other in a firstrelation to hold said bail in inoperative position, said bail beingswingable to an adjusted position behind said tray member to cooperatewith a shortA edge thereof to support said upper surface in an angularattitude with respect to a supporting surface; said detent meansengaging each other in a second relation to retain said bail in saidadjusted position.

2. A childs play table as claimed in claim 1, said bail being swingableto a position above said tray member to serve as a hand grip to movesaid tray member about on a supporting surface; and said detent meansengaging each other in a third relation to retain said bail in saidfurther adjusted position.

MARY A. BOYES. J. EDWIN COATES.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Bailey Sept. 18, 1877Number Number Number Name Date Paalman May 28, 1918 Judge Sept. 8, 1925Strauss Jan. 19, 1926 Allen Dec. 4, 1928 Duggan Jan. 12, 1932 kHouseJune 20, 1933 Vievegge June 20, 1938 Bicker Deo. 17, 1935 Cobb May 26,1936 Widmeier Nov. 10, 1936 Black July 6, 1937 McKeown Feb. 18, 1941Cross Apr. 29, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Mar. 25, 1930

